Thursday, October 22, 2009

Ugh! What a week! Our family has been hit by the flu bug and it has not been a fun ride! This bug is a teaser-one day fevers will be looking as if they are clearing up and then

JUST KIDDING

it comes back, roaring it's ugly head, and fevers are spiked again. Why does it seem that night time is the worst?

Local schools are now making it mandatory that kiddos stay home minimun of 5 days if they have fever accompanied with a stomachache, fever, etc.

This week has given me plenty of time to bake goodies, make home made soups and get PLENTY of snuggle time in with my kiddos while watching their favorite movies. They are troopers.

Ben has been super disappointed when he learns that he is not able to be in school this week. Poor thing...I hope that lasts all the way through high school :)

In speaking with a good friend, whose husband is a Chiropractor, she gives her kiddos, ages 5 and 3, doses of Vitamin D. She, herself, takes an increased amount of Vitamin D and it has so far kept her healthy. Do any of you go the natural route with treating illnesses?

Monday, October 19, 2009

Gals-this site has been such an encouragement to me since it started recently. If you are not a regular reader, I encourage you to be! On days we need a pick-me-up, THIS is a great site to jump into to get a tender moment from other women who just may understand where you are coming from.

Friday, October 16, 2009

I have a cool opportunity for those of you that may be interested learning more about orphan care in Uganda and ways you can get involved by staying in your home or getting out and about!

Brandi is coming to Fargo the weekend of December 3, 4, 5 and 6 and is eager to share with you what Christ is doing in her heart and how God gave her this beautiful group of kids who need help!

The village in Uganda is called "Bukedea". There are 250 identified kids there that are literally starving. There are about 1000 orphans living in this District, just 2 hours from where our family may be living in Kenya. In this post, Brandi writes about the day they met these kids and fed them and 700 more kids came to them hungry and they had to turn them away and because they had no more food.

And they went away hungry.

I want to raise money for these voiceless kids who desperately need their tummies full. I would love your help!

What I am looking for are for people willing to host a home party (similar to what you may do with Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, etc) in their home and invite 10 women or more and have them bring a friend. If the home parties get too big to host at your home, we may move to some other location. Brandi will be bringing THE CUTEST aprons you have ever seen and paperbead necklaces to sell as well as speak about what God is doing in Uganda. You will also have a chance to sponsor a child if you so desire.

Are any of you willing? Think Christmas gifts for your family! What a precious gift to give other women in your family as well as a cool story to share about where it came from. Or, what a precious reminder for you to pray for these kids each time you wear them. All (100%) of the proceeds from the aprons and beads go TO THE KIDDOS as part of an annual fundraiser I will head up to raise money to build bigger bridges for these kids to have access to things such as clean water, medical care and school.

If you would like to be a part of this weekend and join with me to help fundraise for these precious kids, email me or leave a comment. The more brain power, the more creativity! The sky is the limit. If you have an idea, let me know!

If you are interested in hosting a paper bead necklace/apron party that weekend, please email me at tlkenya@yahoo.com or leave a comment at the end of this post and I will get you the details.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I've been submerged in a Bible Study in my church for the past few weeks studying the parable Jesus gives in Luke 15 regarding the 2 brothers-one asks his father for his inheritance, spends if foolishly, and returns to his father who accepts him with a grand party to celebrate his homecoming. The second brother, always being a rule-follower, and honoring to his father, sees this homecoming and becomes bitter and greatly offended, as a party like the one thrown for his younger brother has never been thrown for himself.

I'm learning that either side-being rebellious or a rule follower leads us away from the Lord.

Huh? Did I say that right? I've always identified myself with beind a structured rule-follower. I was raised in a home where obeying rules-specifically ones that dealt with spiritual issues were very important to follow. I did go through a time in my life where I could identify with the younger brother-looking at people as a resource rather than appreciating the person. But today, I struggle with identifying with the elder brother in this parable.

So, I've been trying to wrap my head around "how could the elder brother be in the wrong"?????? It has taken me 3-4 weeks now, as well as last week's sermon to start to grasp this concept.

See, I struggle with pride, and I didn't even know it. I want to be an encourager to others. I want to serve kiddos overseas and be a mama to kids to do not have a safe home.

But why? Is it because I may look better in the eyes of God? SURELY NOT!! But I do! I have learned that I do.....

Last Sunday's sermon was all about what it means to "Die to Myself". Wow. That struck me.

Am I willing to serve others even though I may not get credit for it, or others may get credit for it but not me?

Am I willing to serve in doing menial tasks?

Do I serve because I love God? Or, because I feel like it will help God love me more???

I have learned that there is NOTHING I can do to make God love me more. God loves me for me. God desires me to serve others because I love him.

For some reason, I've "known" this but not until this week to I FULLY GET IT!

So, I completely surrender. I surrender my desires, Kenya, my rebellion, my rule-following pride and I completely want to be engulfed in adoration for God.

To bring application to this in my life, I will choose to put things away around my home as a way to serve my sons and my husband and not grip about it. I will choose to serve others in the community because I love God and I see a need, rather than boasting about it later. I will choose to form relationships with the "unlovable"-the drug addict, the woman who "doesn't fit in" at our church, the orphan across the world or my neighbor whom I have barely known but lived next door to for 4 1/2 years.

I know it will take the grace of God. But if I do not die to myself and recognize what Christ did for me, then I will be no more closer to God at the end of this earthly life I have than today. And I'm not okay with that. I want more.

I've recently started a new job within the agency I work for allowing me to stay at home with my kids. Wow-what an adjustment! Not to complain at all, but it has been a tish overwhelming to try to settle into a new routine.

My two boys are completely opposite in personality types. Do you find this to be the case in your family. I have the stereotypical "Type A" first born and the laid back, care-free second born child. With the ages and personality differences, there come plenty of diagreements in the activity of choice. One wants to read books and the other wants to wrestle. One wants a movie about dinosaurs and the other wants Ninja Turtles. The days are filled with lots of laughter, wrestling, cookie baking and playdoh throwing, er playing.

I have been receiving loving support from my fellow stay at home mom friends who have given me helpful advice on keeping my sanity. So, thank you to those of you who have been that for me!!!

I'm beginning to wonder if I will ever get a few minutes of uninterrupted bathroom time, if I was born to do laundry, or when someone will invent the self-cleaning toilet. There are some days I sit back and watch my household and think we could turn our lives into a sitcom. I remain thankful for what God has blessed me with. I'm sure I will miss the days of scrubbing grass stains out of their jeans, wiping up spilled chocolate milk and reading books before nap time.

....however, if anyone wants to join me for a manicure sometime, I would have no objections.

Monday, October 5, 2009

OKAY! So I'm back! I took a bit of a leave of absence while my life adjusted itself a bit. I've started a new job entailing me staying at home with my kids during the day and working at night. I'm exhausted but loving the new routine and pretty soon I will have things down pat. Then we got sick and "threw up" the routine and we're back again.

I'm thankful.

Anyways, so, I have some crazy fun news to share. On the left side of my blog, I have a link for Children's Hope Chest. I've been speaking with Brandi and Rachel, a local friend of mine, and together we are getting an entire orphan care point sponsored by people like YOU. Click on the link to read more about them. I've spoke about them a bit in the past but have not been crazy-raving about them like I am about to now.

In 8 weeks, Brandi and Vince will be coming to Fargo for a huge weekend launch party December 4, 5 and 6th. We will have tons of things going on, so stay tuned to my blog here to be updated.

I am a bit overwhelmed, however, I know that God is taking care of these kids already, but it is me who chooses to have a voice for these kids that need to be known about...and they are BEAUTIFUL!

Trust me.

You may just fall out of your chair at how beautiful they are.

Seriously.

Thank you all for your sweet emails and prayers. More updates on Kenya to come as well as "what's up with Uganda" details soon.